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Random Fact - Once Removed
Oct. 2nd, 2005 05:20 amOkay, so I'm rereading Scarlett, and somebody mentioned a second cousin, once removed.
"What...the hell...is once removed?!" I mentally bellowed at myself. You see, I had no idea. I've cheerfully read all kinds of antique and historic fiction, have heard the term "(blank) removed" constantly, but never actually had it explained to me. I asked the older members of my family once or twice, and got vague responses to the effect of, "I think it has to do with somebody dying and remarrying."
So, bookmarked my page and headed straight for the Internet. From this article on Geneaology.com:
First you have to understand what a "cousin" is, and where you might be improperly assigning numbers to a cousin relationship, rather than using "removed," as I have been.
A "first cousin" is a child of your parent's sibling, in other words, the child of your aunt or uncle. This is the individual that you have a set of grandparents in common with. You and your first cousin are of the same generation.
A second cousin is the grandchild of your grandparent's sibling, the person you have a set of great-grandparents, but NOT grandparents, in common with. My grandmother's brother's grandchildren (the grandchildren of my great uncle) are my second cousins. A third cousin is your great-grandparent's silbling's great-grandchildren. And so on.
A "second cousin" is NOT your first cousin's child, as I had previously thought. That's where the "removed" phrase comes in.
The "removed" phrase is actually used to indicate a cousin of a different generation, and how many generations that is between them and you. Or, put another way, how many generations closer they are to the common ancestors.
For example, my mother's first cousin is my first cousin, once removed. She is one generation away from my great-grandparents, while I am two generations away from my great-grandparents. She is one generation "removed," or "once removed" from me.
So when my first cousin James has children, I will be their first cousin, once removed, because they will be two generations away from my grandmother, while I am only one generation away.
Also, the first cousin of my grandmother would be my first cousin, twice removed.
Got it? If X equals the type of cousin, then your grandmother's Xcousin is your Xcousin, once removed. Your great-grandmother's Xcousin is your Xcousin, twice-removed.
But it's still all very confusing. I've put in more than an hour trying to figure out family relations, and I'm still very sketchy going more than two generations in any direction. I mean, I can't figure out what a second cousin, once removed would be in relation to me.
That's why it's good we have nuclear families now. You don't have to know much beyond first cousin once or twice removed.
So that's it. In short, "removed" refers to how many generations separate the cousinship. It's actually as important (if not more important) than the concept of "first" and "second" et. all cousins, but the phraseology isn't used anymore.
"What...the hell...is once removed?!" I mentally bellowed at myself. You see, I had no idea. I've cheerfully read all kinds of antique and historic fiction, have heard the term "(blank) removed" constantly, but never actually had it explained to me. I asked the older members of my family once or twice, and got vague responses to the effect of, "I think it has to do with somebody dying and remarrying."
So, bookmarked my page and headed straight for the Internet. From this article on Geneaology.com:
First you have to understand what a "cousin" is, and where you might be improperly assigning numbers to a cousin relationship, rather than using "removed," as I have been.
A "first cousin" is a child of your parent's sibling, in other words, the child of your aunt or uncle. This is the individual that you have a set of grandparents in common with. You and your first cousin are of the same generation.
A second cousin is the grandchild of your grandparent's sibling, the person you have a set of great-grandparents, but NOT grandparents, in common with. My grandmother's brother's grandchildren (the grandchildren of my great uncle) are my second cousins. A third cousin is your great-grandparent's silbling's great-grandchildren. And so on.
A "second cousin" is NOT your first cousin's child, as I had previously thought. That's where the "removed" phrase comes in.
The "removed" phrase is actually used to indicate a cousin of a different generation, and how many generations that is between them and you. Or, put another way, how many generations closer they are to the common ancestors.
For example, my mother's first cousin is my first cousin, once removed. She is one generation away from my great-grandparents, while I am two generations away from my great-grandparents. She is one generation "removed," or "once removed" from me.
So when my first cousin James has children, I will be their first cousin, once removed, because they will be two generations away from my grandmother, while I am only one generation away.
Also, the first cousin of my grandmother would be my first cousin, twice removed.
Got it? If X equals the type of cousin, then your grandmother's Xcousin is your Xcousin, once removed. Your great-grandmother's Xcousin is your Xcousin, twice-removed.
But it's still all very confusing. I've put in more than an hour trying to figure out family relations, and I'm still very sketchy going more than two generations in any direction. I mean, I can't figure out what a second cousin, once removed would be in relation to me.
That's why it's good we have nuclear families now. You don't have to know much beyond first cousin once or twice removed.
So that's it. In short, "removed" refers to how many generations separate the cousinship. It's actually as important (if not more important) than the concept of "first" and "second" et. all cousins, but the phraseology isn't used anymore.
